S-bend chainstay history

[IXXI]

Did *all* Serottas have the s-bend chainstays starting in '84 (or whenever they were introduced)?

Asking because I have an '86 ex- 7-11 team frame (see Gallery) that does not have them, but does have the TDF lugs.

Maybe team bikes had the option not to have s-bends, or maybe s-bends didn't appear en masse til later?

Just wondering...

[mtflycaster]

Dave Kirk ought to know the answer!

[hypnos]

....what kind of chain stay protector fits these S-bend stays, and looks good?

[dave thompson]

....what kind of chain stay protector fits these S-bend stays, and looks good?
I make my own using Bike Save tape (clear mylar) from Colorado Cyclist. Looks great 'cause you can't see it.

[Duane]

Hi, According to an old brochure, Serotta first did the bent chainstays for the '84 Olympics. My '86 "MURRAY" Serotta has the S bend on the left side only. My '85 Nova Special has straight stays.
I couldn't say if all models made in '86 had the bent stays, but I don't think so.



Did *all* Serottas have the s-bend chainstays starting in '84 (or whenever they were introduced)?

Just wondering...

[Smiley]

OK , I'll recount the story told by Ben only if you prodded him to do so. It goes like this , he did it for Davis as his heel nicked the chain stay on one side , left probably and Davis reported back to Ben that he felt that the bike got stiffer when he sprinted , so Ben bent the drive side too and then Davis started to have good results and then all his teammates started to ask for their stays to be bent too. Thats how S bends came about purely by chance and not by design. Its a good story and its true and I believe the time frame was during the teams training for the Olympics so that would put the time line around 1986 .